May 13, 2020

Events of the day

• Apostle James son of Zebedee; St Ignatius Brianchaninov

  Polyeleos rank

• Mid-Pentecost

  Commemoration

• Afterfeast: Pascha. The Bright Resurrection of Christ

Fasting

Fast day · Wednesday / Friday

Wednesday and Friday from Thomas Sunday to Pentecost: fish is allowed.

• Meat: not allowed
• Dairy & eggs: not allowed
• Fish: allowed
• Oil: allowed
• Wine: allowed

Food rules are reference church information. Agree your personal measure of fasting with a priest; consult a doctor if you are ill.

Readings of the day

• Vespers

  Composite reading — Micah 4.2-3, 5; 6.2-5, 8; 5.4, 5

• Vespers

  Composite reading — Isaiah 55.1; 12.3-4; 55.2-13

• Vespers

  Proverbs 9:1–11

• Vespers · St James

  James 1:1–12

• Vespers · St James

  James 1:13–27

• Vespers · St James

  James 2:1–13

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  ¹My brothers, don’t hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ of glory with partiality.

  ²For if a man with a gold ring, in fine clothing, comes into your synagogue, and a poor man in filthy clothing also comes in,

  ³and you pay special attention to him who wears the fine clothing and say, “Sit here in a good place;” and you tell the poor man, “Stand there,” or “Sit by my footstool”

  ⁴haven’t you shown partiality among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts?

  ⁵Listen, my beloved brothers. Didn’t God choose those who are poor in this world to be rich in faith, and heirs of the Kingdom which he promised to those who love him?

  ⁶But you have dishonored the poor man. Don’t the rich oppress you, and personally drag you before the courts?

  ⁷Don’t they blaspheme the honorable name by which you are called?

  ⁸However, if you fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you do well.

  ⁹But if you show partiality, you commit sin, being convicted by the law as transgressors.

  ¹⁰For whoever keeps the whole law, and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all.

  ¹¹For he who said, “Do not commit adultery,” also said, “Do not commit murder.” Now if you do not commit adultery, but murder, you have become a transgressor of the law.

  ¹²So speak and so do, as men who are to be judged by a law of freedom.

  ¹³For judgment is without mercy to him who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.

• Matins Gospel

  John 21:15–25

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  ¹⁵So when they had eaten their breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love me more than these?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I have affection for you.” He said to him, “Feed my lambs.”

  ¹⁶He said to him again a second time, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love me?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I have affection for you.” He said to him, “Tend my sheep.”

  ¹⁷He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you have affection for me?” Peter was grieved because he asked him the third time, “Do you have affection for me?” He said to him, “Lord, you know everything. You know that I have affection for you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep.

  ¹⁸Most certainly I tell you, when you were young, you dressed yourself and walked where you wanted to. But when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will dress you and carry you where you don’t want to go.”

  ¹⁹Now he said this, signifying by what kind of death he would glorify God. When he had said this, he said to him, “Follow me.”

  ²⁰Then Peter, turning around, saw a disciple following. This was the disciple whom Jesus loved, the one who had also leaned on Jesus’ breast at the supper and asked, “Lord, who is going to betray you?”

  ²¹Peter seeing him, said to Jesus, “Lord, what about this man?”

  ²²Jesus said to him, “If I desire that he stay until I come, what is that to you? You follow me.”

  ²³This saying therefore went out among the brothers, that this disciple wouldn’t die. Yet Jesus didn’t say to him that he wouldn’t die, but, “If I desire that he stay until I come, what is that to you?”

  ²⁴This is the disciple who testifies about these things, and wrote these things. We know that his witness is true.

  ²⁵There are also many other things which Jesus did, which if they would all be written, I suppose that even the world itself wouldn’t have room for the books that would be written.

• Epistle

  Acts 14:6–18

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  ⁶they became aware of it and fled to the cities of Lycaonia, Lystra, Derbe, and the surrounding region.

  ⁷There they preached the Good News.

  ⁸At Lystra a certain man sat, impotent in his feet, a cripple from his mother’s womb, who never had walked.

  ⁹He was listening to Paul speaking, who, fastening eyes on him, and seeing that he had faith to be made whole,

  ¹⁰said with a loud voice, “Stand upright on your feet!” He leaped up and walked.

  ¹¹When the multitude saw what Paul had done, they lifted up their voice, saying in the language of Lycaonia, “The gods have come down to us in the likeness of men!”

  ¹²They called Barnabas “Jupiter”, and Paul “Mercury”, because he was the chief speaker.

  ¹³The priest of Jupiter, whose temple was in front of their city, brought oxen and garlands to the gates, and would have made a sacrifice along with the multitudes.

  ¹⁴But when the apostles, Barnabas and Paul, heard of it, they tore their clothes, and sprang into the multitude, crying out,

  ¹⁵“Men, why are you doing these things? We also are men of like passions with you, and bring you good news, that you should turn from these vain things to the living God, who made the sky, the earth, the sea, and all that is in them;

  ¹⁶who in the generations gone by allowed all the nations to walk in their own ways.

  ¹⁷Yet he didn’t leave himself without witness, in that he did good and gave you rains from the sky and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness.”

  ¹⁸Even saying these things, they hardly stopped the multitudes from making a sacrifice to them.

• Epistle · St James

  Acts 12:1–11

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  ¹Now about that time, King Herod stretched out his hands to oppress some of the assembly.

  ²He killed James, the brother of John, with the sword.

  ³When he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded to seize Peter also. This was during the days of unleavened bread.

  ⁴When he had arrested him, he put him in prison, and delivered him to four squads of four soldiers each to guard him, intending to bring him out to the people after the Passover.

  ⁵Peter therefore was kept in the prison, but constant prayer was made by the assembly to God for him.

  ⁶The same night when Herod was about to bring him out, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains. Guards in front of the door kept the prison.

  ⁷And behold, an angel of the Lord stood by him, and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side, and woke him up, saying, “Stand up quickly!” His chains fell off his hands.

  ⁸The angel said to him, “Get dressed and put on your sandals.” He did so. He said to him, “Put on your cloak and follow me.”

  ⁹And he went out and followed him. He didn’t know that what was being done by the angel was real, but thought he saw a vision.

  ¹⁰When they were past the first and the second guard, they came to the iron gate that leads into the city, which opened to them by itself. They went out, and went down one street, and immediately the angel departed from him.

  ¹¹When Peter had come to himself, he said, “Now I truly know that the Lord has sent out his angel and delivered me out of the hand of Herod, and from everything the Jewish people were expecting.”

• Gospel

  John 7:14–30

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  ¹⁴But when it was now the middle of the feast, Jesus went up into the temple and taught.

  ¹⁵The Jews therefore marveled, saying, “How does this man know letters, having never been educated?”

  ¹⁶Jesus therefore answered them, “My teaching is not mine, but his who sent me.

  ¹⁷If anyone desires to do his will, he will know about the teaching, whether it is from God, or if I am speaking from myself.

  ¹⁸He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory, but he who seeks the glory of him who sent him is true, and no unrighteousness is in him.

  ¹⁹Didn’t Moses give you the law, and yet none of you keeps the law? Why do you seek to kill me?”

  ²⁰The multitude answered, “You have a demon! Who seeks to kill you?”

  ²¹Jesus answered them, “I did one work and you all marvel because of it.

  ²²Moses has given you circumcision (not that it is of Moses, but of the fathers), and on the Sabbath you circumcise a boy.

  ²³If a boy receives circumcision on the Sabbath, that the law of Moses may not be broken, are you angry with me, because I made a man completely healthy on the Sabbath?

  ²⁴Don’t judge according to appearance, but judge righteous judgment.”

  ²⁵Therefore some of them of Jerusalem said, “Isn’t this he whom they seek to kill?

  ²⁶Behold, he speaks openly, and they say nothing to him. Can it be that the rulers indeed know that this is truly the Christ?

  ²⁷However we know where this man comes from, but when the Christ comes, no one will know where he comes from.”

  ²⁸Jesus therefore cried out in the temple, teaching and saying, “You both know me, and know where I am from. I have not come of myself, but he who sent me is true, whom you don’t know.

  ²⁹I know him, because I am from him, and he sent me.”

  ³⁰They sought therefore to take him; but no one laid a hand on him, because his hour had not yet come.

• Gospel · St James

  Luke 5:1–11

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  ¹Now while the multitude pressed on him and heard the word of God, he was standing by the lake of Gennesaret.

  ²He saw two boats standing by the lake, but the fishermen had gone out of them, and were washing their nets.

  ³He entered into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, and asked him to put out a little from the land. He sat down and taught the multitudes from the boat.

  ⁴When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep, and let down your nets for a catch.”

  ⁵Simon answered him, “Master, we worked all night, and took nothing; but at your word I will let down the net.”

  ⁶When they had done this, they caught a great multitude of fish, and their net was breaking.

  ⁷They beckoned to their partners in the other boat, that they should come and help them. They came, and filled both boats, so that they began to sink.

  ⁸But Simon Peter, when he saw it, fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, Lord.”

  ⁹For he was amazed, and all who were with him, at the catch of fish which they had caught;

  ¹⁰and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. Jesus said to Simon, “Don’t be afraid. From now on you will be catching people alive.”

  ¹¹When they had brought their boats to land, they left everything, and followed him.

• Epistle · Blessing of Waters

  Hebrews 2:11–18

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  ¹¹For both he who sanctifies and those who are sanctified are all from one, for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brothers,

  ¹²saying, “I will declare your name to my brothers. Among the congregation I will sing your praise.”

  ¹³Again, “I will put my trust in him.” Again, “Behold, here I am with the children whom God has given me.”

  ¹⁴Since then the children have shared in flesh and blood, he also himself in the same way partook of the same, that through death he might bring to nothing him who had the power of death, that is, the devil,

  ¹⁵and might deliver all of them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.

  ¹⁶For most certainly, he doesn’t give help to angels, but he gives help to the offspring of Abraham.

  ¹⁷Therefore he was obligated in all things to be made like his brothers, that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make atonement for the sins of the people.

  ¹⁸For in that he himself has suffered being tempted, he is able to help those who are tempted.

• Gospel · Blessing of Waters

  John 5:1–4

Source: Orthocal: lectionary data — Slavic tradition, Julian calendar. Text: World English Bible.

Saints and icons

• Prayer of the day: The Trisagion